_Through Barcelona passes almost one-fourth of the entire foreign commerce of Spain. This city is the most important commercial and industrial town in Spain, and has a population of 530,000._] The two most notable sights in Seville are the Alcázar, which was the palace of the Moorish kings and afterward the home of Spanish rulers, and the cathedral, which is one of the finest, largest, and most beautiful Gothic churches to be found anywhere. The Alcázar has much of the beauty that is to be found in the Alhambra. Many of the interior decorations are not of the original building, but were the result of a restoration, and in this work many of the designs were frankly borrowed from the Alhambra. The cathedral is one of the largest and most beautiful in Europe. Within this great building there are so many interesting and valuable works of historic and art interest that it might fairly be called a museum. One feature of the exterior of the cathedral arrests the eye of a New Yorker at once,--the tower. He is apt to exclaim on sight of it, “The Madison Square Tower!” The similarity is close. When the plans of the Madison Square building were made the tower of Seville was copied. We have gone now far to the south. A few miles brings us to Cádiz, on the ocean coast, or Malaga on the Mediterranean. The distance from either of these two attractive cities to Gibraltar is short. GIBRALTAR, THE IMPREGNABLE [Illustration: FORTIFICATIONS AT GIBRALTAR _This, the key to the Mediterranean, is one of the most important coast fortresses in the world. It has been in possession of Great Britain since 1704._] And when we reach Gibraltar the change of scene and life is abrupt and almost startling. If we go to Gibraltar by the road from Spain, we cross a narrow strip called Neutral Ground. It is arbitrarily fixed territory between Spanish and British ground. It is so low that it can hardly be seen from a distance. The effect is to make Gibraltar seem like an island. In case of emergency it would not be difficult to blow up this neutral strip and make an actual separation. The rock of Gibraltar has been for years the symbol of stability and of strength. It is in a military sense the “key to the Mediterranean.” It was taken by the British in 1704, during the war of the Spanish Succession, by Admiral George Rooke, who commanded the British fleet. It has been fortified by the English government in a manner that is most discouraging to anyone contemplating a hostile advance through the straits. [Illustration: VIEW ACROSS THE NEUTRAL GROUND BETWEEN GIBRALTAR AND SPAIN _In the distance is seen the misty outline of the Rock_] The shape of Gibraltar is that of an enormous lion. As Thackeray says, “It crouches there, to guard the passage for its British mistress.” At the base of the rock are batteries; up on the summit are guns of heavy caliber, and over its face are holes through which cannon muzzles look out across the water like sullen and malignant eyes.